The Mantle - Alpha and Omega
by Qwerty282
Summary: A massive X-over combining Crysis, Raze, Alien vs. Predator, Star Wars, JC's Avatar, Halo, Star Craft, Exo-Force, Robopocalypse, Transformers, Bionicle, Hero Factory, Sins of a Solar Empire, Ender's Game and Mass Effect. 'Nuff said, now read for the plot. T for the usual ka-boomz. Still accepting some games/movies/books/whatever, so PM before it gets too crazy. Strictly NO MAGIC.
1. Timeline I

A/N: Yep. This here is the reason I've dropped off the radar. I promised myself I wouldn't work on this until TDS and TTFE are finished, but gawd dang it! I can't freakin' update or write anything else with this doing a fuckin' fine job of raping my brain muscles! I'll get dain bramaged if I didn't let it out somehow, so here you go.

EDIT: I've bolstered the strength of the Reapers a bit.

* * *

Timeline I: Leviathans-Precursors

* * *

_1.7 Billion Years Before Common Era (BCE)  
1.7 Billion Years Before Great Journey (BGJ)  
1.7 Billion Years Before Writ of Union (BWU)  
1.7 Billion Years Before Council Founding (BCF)  
1.7 Billion Years Pre-Great Shattering (PGS)_

The Leviathans begin carving out their galactic empire beginning with the indoctrination of the sapient land-dwelling species on their planet.

* * *

1 BY BCE  
1 BY BGJ  
1 BY BWU  
1 BY BCF  
1 BY PGS

The Leviathans notice the numerous Synthetic revolts throughout their empire of subservient races. They create the Catalyst to seek a way to secure permanent Organic dominance.

The Catalyst determines that in order for Organics to remain the dominant life form, they must be exterminated before they can reach such a point that they can create Synthetics.

It then betrays the Leviathans, harvesting them to create the first Reaper, Harbinger. It then embarks on a genocide campaign, harvesting all organic life and converting them into Reapers or husks. The surviving Leviathans go into hiding.

Simultaneously, the Catalyst begins construction of the Citadel and Mass Relay network to decrease the time between harvests.

* * *

0.9 BY BCE  
0.9 BY BGJ  
0.9 BY BWU  
0.9 BY BCF  
0.9 BY PGS

The Mass Relay network is completed.

The Leviathans finish wiping all evidence of their civilisation from the galaxy.

* * *

35 MY BCE  
34.9 MY BGJ  
35 MY BWU  
35 MY BCF  
35.01 MY PGS

The Precursors, an intergalactic nomadic life-meddling species, arrive from their exodus from the Andromeda. They arrive just after the Reapers finish their latest cycle.

They begin to seed the now-empty galaxy with life created by them. Many of these species base it on Element Zero Reaper technology. Others advance their technology on their own, having been created in a Relay dead zone.

* * *

34.95 MY BCE  
34.85 MY BGJ  
34.95 MY BWU  
34.95 MY BCF  
34.96 MY PGS

The Reapers return from deep space and attack the Precursor-made dominant species which was undergoing observation by the Precursors. They begin harvesting the race and its Eezo-based allies.

Alarmed by the brutality and savagery of the attack, the Precursors rallied the galaxy's species and launched a counterattack against the now 2,000,000 strong Reaper forces. The Precursor-Reaper War begins.

* * *

34.95 MY BCE  
34.85 MY BGJ  
34.95 MY BWU  
34.95 MY BCF  
34.96 MY PGS

After a hundred years of fighting, the Reapers are defeated and they withdraw back into deep space, now only 250,000 strong.

The Precursors, however, have lost 7 entire species. After the Reapers are gone, they destroy the Mass Relay network, but the Citadel was not found, having been moved into deep space with the Reapers via a Mass Relay which was detonated after the Reapers retreated.

* * *

34,948,749 BCE, Precursor High Council Chambers, PCNF_ Whispers of Tomorrow_, in orbit around Charum Hakkor, Hakkorus, Orion Arm

A tall, spare figure strode into the chambers, dark cape billowing behind him. He had a long scar over his two right eyes and cheek, courtesy of a husk. His rough skin, hardened by years of combat, was pale with hints of green. His sloped head was devoid of any growths or hair. He stopped at the podium and looked up to face the fifty-plus members of the Precursor High Council.

"Supreme Commander of the Precursor Navy Heremus, the Precursor High Council has called you here to explain the events at the Battle of the Citadel," one of the Councillors declared, "Where the last ten thousand Neyarra, five hundred thousand Pikrhyuvs, ninety thousand Duraaxi and the last Shar'Krii in existence perished, along with over one thousand Allied ships of all kinds."

"Esteemed members of the Council, I accept full responsibility for the loss of the 117th Fast Reaction Flotilla. I did not anticipate that the Reapers were willing to sacrifice the Citadel to stop us from advancing," Heremus bowed his head, all three of his eyes closing to show sincerity.

"You are forgiven. It is an event which no one would have foreseen," another Councillor replied, to murmurs of agreement from his colleagues, "But we are not here to hear you apologise, Commander. Rather, we are here for an account of the events which transpired at the Relay."

Heremus nodded, before continuing,

"I led my fleet on a rampage, decimating the enemy and pushing them back. To my surprise, they landed uncountable numbers of troops on the planet the last Relay orbited, while most of the ships retreated through the Relay to the Citadel.

"I ordered the 245th Carrier Group to land and support ground forces to repel the Reaper husks as I knew they were capable of firing on us from the ground if we approach the Relay. I, however, led the 93rd Heavy Fleet and the 117th Fast Reaction Flotilla in my flagship, the PCNF _Duty_, to engage the Reaper space forces.

"The naval forces sustained moderate casualties and the ground forces suffered heavy casualties, but the entire Reaper force was exterminated, including those on the planet. After a brief interval to rest and regroup the fleet, I sent the 117th through the Relay to secure a foothold in the Citadel system.

"I did not expect the Reapers to blow up the Citadel in a massive supernova as a form of resource denial. As soon as the 117th passed through, it was obliterated in the blast. I watched the explosion via the Neyarra flagship NRF _Faithful_'s cameras. I waited for a while, then sent a single ship through. Nothing was left."

At this Heremus dipped his head in shame and regret, "I should have sent but a single ship through. Then maybe the Neyarra would still be around."

There were murmurs among the Council, until one stood and declared, "You are dismissed, Supreme Commander."

Heremus bowed with his eyes closed and fist over his chest, then he turned and left the Chambers.

* * *

As soon as Heremus left, the Council broke into discussion about the Reapers.

"They are able to control and morph Organics and force them to do their bidding."

"So long as they have access to an abundance of organic life forms, their forces would be bottomless."

"Agreed. Their Destroyer forms are an even match for one of our corvettes. Considering that 70% of our creations are unable to match that feat, it is obvious that there are greater threats in this galaxy."

"Aye, these Reapers overwhelm any Organic force like a flood, and they feed off of them like parasites."

"Indeed. If we are to continue on our pilgrimage of life-giving, we must pass on to this galaxy a Mantle of Responsibilty, and ensure that there is a species strong, just and noble enough to uphold it and protect this galaxy."

"But how should we judge our creations worthy or unworthy of enforcing galactic peace and stability?" one voice spoke out, to murmurs of agreement of his fellow Councillors.

"Simple." Heads turns and scrutinised the figure.

"A test," he said, unaffected by the attention he was getting, "We must create a Parasite, as much like the Reapers as possible. Only the strong will be able to stand against its Flood."

"Good idea. Any suggestions as to what it should be called?"

"How about… The Flood."

* * *

A/N: Yep, Precursors created the Flood. And any BIONICLE maniac should recognise Heremus.

And to clear any potential mix-ups, the Reapers made a Mass Relay and rigged it to blow the moment a non-Reaper entered the Widow system. The Precursors think the Reapers blew up the Citadel, but in fact the Reapers escaped to dark space to rebuild and consolidate their forces.

I won't be working on this, it's just to clear my mind so I can focus properly on TDS and TTFE. Once they're finished, I'll begin writing this again. (BTW this will become the main universe I'll work on later)

Of course I'll vent steam and brain clogs via Timelines every now and then, but otherwise, consider this fic in cryostasis.

Till sometime-in-the-future,

_Q282__


	2. Timeline II

A/N: And I couldn't stop working on this. Fan-fucking-tastic. I can only hope I can hold back enough to _not_ start the story itself.

Oh yeah, the reason I made the Precursors less powerful than visualised by many people is because, if they are Gods, how would the Forerunners have defeated them in Halo canon? Just think, if you and ten thousand Marines were to face off against Jesus Christ, Allah, Buddha, Shiva, Zeus **or** any other deity you believe in, what are the chances of you coming out tops? To quote Kelly-087, _"Piss poor odds for the little guys."_

EDIT: I've added a bit more on the Cybertronian conflict.

* * *

Timeline II: Precursors-Forerunners

* * *

34.95 MY BCE  
34.85 MY BGJ  
34.95 MY BWU  
34.95 MY BCF  
34.96 MY PGS

The Precursors create the Flood as a test for their creations, knowing that they lack the commitment to continually protect this galaxy.

The Flood is created from Precursor DNA and a kill switch is made to destroy all forms not in slipstream time-lock at the time of activation.

Periodically, it is released upon a species which the Precursors deem "in line" with the true teachings of the Mantle of Responsibility.

* * *

1.1 MY BCE  
1 MY BGJ  
1.1 MY BWU  
1.1 MY BCF  
1.11 MY PGS

The Forerunners are created by the Precursors on Ghibalb.

* * *

1 MY BCE  
0.9 MY BGJ  
1 MY BWU  
1 MY BCF  
1.01 MY PGS

The Precursors create a collection of species referred to as Humanity on Erde-Tyrene.

* * *

990,000 BCE  
890,000 BGJ  
989,148 BWU  
989,500 BCF  
995,000 PGS

Forerunners unlock Tier 3 technology.

* * *

910,000 BCE  
810,000 BGJ  
909,148 BWU  
909,500 BCF  
915,000 PGS

Humanity reaches Tier 3 technology.

* * *

900,000 BCE  
800,000 BGJ  
899,148 BWU  
899,500 BCF  
905,000 PGS

Both Humanity and Forerunners unlock Lower Tier 2 technology within 500 years of each other.

* * *

800,000 BCE  
700,000 BGJ  
799,148 BWU  
799,500 BCF  
805,000 PGS

Both Humanity and Forerunners unlock Lower Tier 1 technology within 300 years of each other.

* * *

750,000 BCE  
650,000 BGJ  
649,148 BWU  
649,500 BCF  
755,000 PGS

Both Humanity and Forerunners unlock Upper Tier 1 technology within 200 years of each other, rendering them eligible for testing.

* * *

700,000 BCE  
600,000 BGJ  
699,148 BWU  
699,500 BCF  
705,000 PGS

The Precursors judge the Forerunners unworthy of the Mantle because of their arrogance and alleged superiority to other races. They schedule them for eradication.

They also find Humanity a possible candidate for ownership of the Mantle and schedule them for testing.

The Forerunners find out about this and launch an all-out assault on Precursor forces.

* * *

699,800 BCE  
599,800 BGJ  
698,948 BWU  
699,300 BCF  
704,800 PGS

The Forerunner Warrior-Servants overwhelm the Precursors with sheer numbers and decimate their fleets. The Precursors were a mainly nomadic race, so the planets they settled were few and far.

The Forerunner-Precursor War ends in a pyrrhic Forerunner victory.

The Precursor Testing ship en route to Human territory is destroyed and its cargo lost for a long time.

The location of the Precursor's Flood kill switch station is lost, as was all knowledge of the Parasite.

Small pockets of Precursors managed to escape the Forerunner onslaught, hiding themselves on small, out-of-the-way systems to escape detection.

The remaining loyal remnants of the Precursor High Council make a last stand on the planet of Junthor. As a last act of defiance, a Precursor raised a single obelisk with the phrase "Walk among these works, and know our greatness" stenciled on one side. A Forerunner vandal carved out the phrase "Monsters from the id" on the base of the reverse side soon after the planet fell.

Angonce, a former member of the High Council, crashes his ship on giant garden world Spherus Magna with a rather large population of survivors, including Supreme Commander Heremus.

Primus, another member of the High Council and a respected scientist, exiled himself to his personal Shield World Cybertron, content to experiment in isolation.

With the Precursors gone, the Forerunners declare themselves the Guardians of the Mantle and Protectors of all Life. This puts them in direct opposition with the Humans, who were told by the Precursors that they were the true Inheritors of the Mantle.

* * *

500,000 BCE  
400,000 BGJ  
499,148 BWU  
499,500 BCF  
505,000 PGS

Experimentation by the remaining Precursors on Spherus Magna turns them into cyborgs and thus, grants them immunity to Halo.

The first Agori and other biomechanical creatures are created, Angonce and his followers having given up on the concept of purely organic or synthetic life upholding the Mantle after millions of years of failures.

Primus creates the mostly synthetic shape-shifting race of the Cybertronians, beginning with the Primes. He instructs his ancilla to wake him from cryostasis once his creations unlock Tier 4 technology.

* * *

400,000 BCE  
300,000 BGJ  
399,148 BWU  
399,500 BCF  
405,000 PGS

A civil war ensues between different factions and/or species of Humanity. During this time, many new planetary bases of different leaders are established. This begins the Dark Age of Humanity

This conflict lasts for generations and factions rise and fall; this leads to some confusion over which planet Humanity originated from.

* * *

399,000 BCE  
299,000 BGJ  
398,148 BWU  
398,500 BCF  
404,000 PGS

The Hakkor Alliance manages to overcome their opponents and establishes a United Human Government based on Charum Hakkor.

First Contact with the San'Shyuum occurs, resulting in the Human-San'Shyuum Alliance. Thus begins the Golden Age of Humanity.

* * *

350,000 BCE  
250,000 BGJ  
249,148 BWU  
249,500 BCF  
355,000 PGS

The Forerunners encounter the Rakata Infinite Empire. Immediately, the Ecumene declares war on the Empire for its enslavement of entire species.

The Forerunners soon learn about the Force and the devastation it can cause in the hands of a skilled individual.

* * *

349,900 BCE  
249,900 BGJ  
249,048 BWU  
249,400 BCF  
354,900 PGS

The Rakata Infinite Empire collapses after their slave species rebel and join the Forerunners. The Forerunners use their superior Navy and slipspace manoeuvrability to decimate the Rakata.

Eventually, the Rakata are forced back to their homeworld of Lehon, where they make a last stand. When it was clear all was lost, the remaining Rakata Warriors made a suicide run against Forerunner lines, sealing the fate of their race.

After the war, Forerunner scientists also got to work understanding the Force. It was discovered that only very few Forerunners, predominantly of the Warrior-Servant and Builder rates, were Force-sensitive to a limited degree. The Warrior-Servants who exhibited this behaviour were re-assigned to an elite unit known as Prometheans.

* * *

300,000

* * *

250,000 BCE  
150,000 BGJ  
149,148 BWU  
149,500 BCF  
255,000 PGS

Primus' Cybertronians attain Tier 4 technology. However, they are limited to their home system due to failure to construct an FTL drive. Primus' ancilla is accidentally destroyed when an EMP weapon is test fired in its vicinity while it was collecting data, and thus fails to awaken him. Ironically, this is what saves his life when the Halo array is fired.

* * *

200,290 BCE  
100,290 BGJ  
99,148 BWU  
99,500 BCF  
205,290 PGS

Cybertron devolves into fighting between two factions of opposing ideologies; Autobots and Decepticons clash head-to-head across the planet. They are so focused on destroying one another that they neglect to research FTL transport.

* * *

110,000 BCE  
10,000 BGJ  
109,148 BWU  
109,500 BCF  
115,000 PGS

Human colonists under Yprin Yprikushma discover the long-lost wreck of the Precursor Testing ship. In it they find Flood spores and the Gravemind. They bring it back to the capital of Charum Hakkor.

The spores are tested on the Pheru, a popular pet for Humans and San'Shyuum. It alters their behaviour, making them friendlier and more endearing.

Thus, millennia after their scheduled testing, Humanity unintentionally releases the Test of the Mantle on themselves.

* * *

109,400 BCE  
9,400 BGJ  
108,548 BWU  
108,900 BCF  
114,400 PGS

The Pheru are quarantined on their homeworld of Faun Hakkor after 80% of the population begin exhibiting excessively violent behaviour and/or unnatural growths.

However, when some Humans and San'Shyuum begin to show similar growths and or behaviour to the Pheru, mass panic ensues and the Human-San'Shyuum military is put on high alert.

So begins the Human-Flood War.

* * *

109,300 BCE  
9,300 BGJ  
108,448 BWU  
108,800 BCF  
114,300 PGS

The Flood launches a coordinated attack across Alliance space. All of a sudden, several colonies and outposts go dark and several core worlds are attacked by mysterious Human ships with organic growths on them.

The entire military is mobilised to retake the worlds. Most of them are utterly overrun, but some still had pockets of resistance. Those survivors told horrific tales of how they escaped Flood assimilation.

In the opening days of the Human-Flood War, over 40% of Alliance space falls to the parasite.

* * *

109,200 BCE  
9,200 BGJ  
108,348 BWU  
108,700 BCF  
114,200 PGS

The Flood intrudes into a small sector of Forerunner space, prompting the Human 192nd Fleet under Lord Admiral Forthencho Forzhanal to pursue. Orbital vitrification of infected worlds is authorised around this time as well.

Extensive colonisation by the Alliance in Forerunner border space (opposite end of their space from the epicentre of the Flood stranglehold) is authorised by the Charum Hakkor government to account for the thousands of worlds lost in the opening years of the Human-Flood War.

* * *

109,100 BCE  
9,100 BGJ  
108,248 BWU  
108,600 BCF  
114,100 PGS

The Forerunner Ecumene, outraged at the supposed intrusion of their sovereign territory, authorises the Didact to wage War against Humanity in the name of the Mantle.

Alliance scientists manage to develop and deploy the Flood cure around this time.

* * *

109,000 BCE  
9,000 BGJ  
108,148 BWU  
108,500 BCF  
114,000 PGS

Humanity, having lost 78% of its territory and 54% of its pre-war population, was unable to effectively combat the Forerunners. Among the first planets to fall to the Forerunner onslaught is Erde-Tyrene, the world many humans consider their homeworld. This deals a massive blow to Alliance morale.

Horrified by the balls of glass left in place of once heavily populated Human planets which they stumbled upon, the Forerunners swear to remove from the galaxy what they perceive to be the true threat to all life.

The final battle of Charum Hakkor is fought 10 years after the San'Shyuum surrender. The last 500,000,000 humans and remaining 800,000 San'Shyuum still loyal to Humanity pit themselves against the billion-strong Forerunner Warrior-Servant army.

Humanity falls, and is devolved to a Tier 7 species of hunter-gatherers. Their life expectancy drops from 300 to 20 in one generation.

Following the Fall of Humanity, Forerunners uncover the real reason the Humans invaded Forerunner space, the Flood. However, they dismiss it as nothing but excuses and conspiracies. However, the Lifeworker known as the Librarian was convinced it was more than just that. She begins to plan for an eventual Flood invasion.

* * *

A/N: And yep. I've finally worked all those errors out. Note, this may be subject to revision when something else hits me.

So far the foundations for Halo, Star Wars, Transformers and Bionicle have been set. Rest assured, more will come soon.

And argh, I WILL get backtowork on TDS and TTFE soon. Just as soon as I work out the goddamn dynamics of Chief's conversation with the Citadel Council and the circumstances of Teridax's little re-appearance. It's tough, bending canon while making sure it stays true to the storyline, especially in "insert Halo character into ME universe" and straight fanfics.

Anyways, until next update,

_Q282__


	3. Timeline III

A/N: Dates are happening closer together now, and I'm too lazy to do all those calculations. So, for simplicity's sake, everything's gonna be in BCE/CE.

And by the way, you might want to start taking notes, 'cos things are gonna turn real crazy real soon.

By the way (again), happy Chinese New Year/Tết to all who celebrate! 恭喜发财!

* * *

Timeline III: Forerunners-Post Protheans

* * *

100,300 BCE

The Forerunner outpost world G617-g1 goes dark. A military team is sent out to investigate, but never returns. This marks the beginning of the Forerunner-Flood War.

* * *

100,239 BCE

Forerunner worlds begin to disappear mysteriously. Word leaks out of a mysterious stellar disease which consumes entire worlds.

* * *

100,119 BCE

Construction of the 12 Halos begins under orders by the Master Builder Faber. The Guild of the Forge of a Bright Future is selected to oversee the project.

* * *

100,043 BCE

The Ecumene task the Contender-class AI 05-032 Mendicant Bias to test-fire Installation 07 at Charum Hakkor. This accidentally liberates the trapped Flood Gravemind. It is transported to the Halo on the Master Builder's orders for Mendicant Bias to interrogate.

* * *

100,000 BCE

The events of _Halo: Cryptum_ and _Halo: Primordium_ occurs.

Following his immoral use of the Composer, the Ur-Didact is exiled to Requiem and the Composer is removed from his care.

The Halo Array is fired, dooming all sentient life in the galaxy. The remaining Forerunners under the Bornstellar-Didact agree to surrender the Mantle of Responsibility to the Reclaimers, and they move to the Small Magellanic Cloud to begin to re-populate slowly.

A small battlegroup of Flood ships were scouting dark space when the Halo array is fired, thus they were spared from the destruction of the Milky Way. However, the Array firing fried their hosts' nervous system and affected their genome slightly. Thus, the Gravemind's personality is fractured, as there was one on board the flagship of the battlegroup. Since the Flood's biology was altered slightly, they were technically not Flood anymore. They were, however, still hell-bent on the assimilation of all life. Over the centuries, they became known as the Zerg.

The energy from the Halo firing also reacts with the unique mantle of Spherus Magna, which had also been exposed, over time, to copious amounts of chemicals leftover from the Precursors', known there as the Great Beings, numerous experiments.

Because the Cybertronians are 85% synthetic, they are unaffected by the Halo array.

One of the Keyships carrying a fragment of Mendicant Bias is affected by a slipspace anomaly and makes a controlled crash-land on the surface of Janjur Qom.

* * *

99,500 BCE

The mantle of Spherus Magna destabilises completely, resulting in its contents seeping to the surface. It is dubbed as "energised protodermis", having been found to transform or destroy anything it touched. This sparks a war among the various tribes and creations of the Great Beings for control over it.

It became known as the Core War.

The Reapers, noticing the firing of the Array, send a scout to check on the affairs of the galaxy. When the scout reports that the galaxy is devoid of life, the remaining 250,000 Reapers, now upgraded slightly with stolen Precursor War-era technology, return to the Milky Way and reset their Relay trap.

* * *

98,500 BCE

Desperate to end the war, Heremus creates a sentient race of robots, programmed to kill anyone with a weapon. They, like the Flood, are wired into a kill switch/homing beacon which would be activated when the war ends.

Simulation run by the Great Beings show that the energised protodermis in the planet would tear it apart within 2000 years. Construction of a final project to find the solution to peace on this war-torn planet is begun under Angonce.

* * *

97,500 BCE

The Baterra, Heremus' project, are released on the inhabitants of Spherus Magna.

* * *

97,100 BCE

The Baterra successfully end the Core War. However, a glitch in the programming results in the kill switch failing to work. The Baterra congregate in the Black Spikes, as planned, but fail to shut down.

* * *

96,500 BCE

Angonce's project, a gigantic sentient robot starship, is completed. He christens it Mata Nui, or "The Great Spirit". Mata Nui takes off and begins his mission.

* * *

95,492 BCE

Spherus Magna destabilises completely. It separates into 3 planetoids: the moons of Bota Magna and Aqua Magna orbit the husk of a planet that used to be Spherus Magna.

Cataclysms occur all over the planet, and mass extinctions take place. The Precursors exile themselves on Bota Magna, deeming themselves failures and unworthy of their titles as Great Beings and Guiders of Life.

* * *

95,000 BCE

The Forerunner Keyships are launched, bearing their precious cargo of embryos and genetic material, along with limited terraforming tools. The Reapers, mistaking this as a Precursor recon team, attack. Two Keyships are destroyed and one damaged before the Reapers realise that the Keyships fail to respond with any defence mechanisms.

Noticing this, the Reapers observe a few. This leads them to conclude that the Keyships were distributing organic life throughout the galaxy. The Catalyst panics, not knowing what else might be on the Keyships, and realises that there are too many unknown variables. This causes the Reapers to speed up their reconstruction, leading to portions of the galaxy ending up in "Relay Dead Zones".

* * *

94,892 BCE

The single damaged Keyship which survived the attack by the Reapers crashes on Thessia.

It so happens that that particular Keyships carried a particular subspecies of Humanity. Isolated from life native to Earth and exposed to extremely large amounts of Eezo and radiation from the Reaper attacks, the survivors adapted to their new homeworld in the centuries and millennia ahead, becoming genetically distinct from their brethren half a galaxy away.

* * *

84,500 BCE

The Relay trap is completed, albeit somewhat more scattered due to the Reaper's haste.

* * *

68,320 BCE

The Protheans develop Reaper-based Mass Effect technology. They begin expanding throughout the cosmos. Due to their unique physiology, they advanced faster than any other race, reaching out and establishing the Prothean Empire on the Citadel.

* * *

65,098 BCE

The Protheans encounter the Zha'til, a race of cyborgs controlled by rogue AIs. They respond aggressively, forcing the Protheans to wage war on them.

* * *

65,000 BCE

The Protheans begin assimilating other sentient species into their empire to combat the Zha'til.

* * *

64,372 BCE

After almost a millennium of war, the Zha'til are defeated, and the Protheans initiate a stellar collapse of the Zha'til home system's star.

Due to the nature of their enemy, all AI research is halted and AIs are officially outlawed in the Empire.

* * *

48,300 BCE

The Reapers return and harvest the Protheans. However, due to the rate of Prothean development, they were able to resist and hold their ground longer than the reapers anticipated, going so far as to partially construct the superweapon known as the Crucible.

It was, however, too little too late. The Reapers decimate the Protheans, at the cost of 5 of their own.

* * *

47,953 BCE

The remnants of the Prothean Empire resist and fight back, but are ultimately defeated by the technological and numerical superiority of the Reapers. The few Protheans left either go into hiding or into cryostasis. Those that hide eventually die out, but the Chambers located on Ilos, Levina and Avarcum survive.

The newest cycle brings about the birth of 20 new Reapers, each upgraded and overhauled compared to the older models. The remaining indoctrinated Protheans and husks are turned into Collectors, and they set up shop in the galactic core, behind the Omega 4 Relay.

* * *

47,833 BCE

The researchers on Ilos are reawakened, and they piece together what transpired in their absence. Wanting to give the then-primitive races they were studying a chance, they travel to the Citadel via the Conduit and modify the signal that compels the Keepers to activate the Citadel relay. Having accomplished their mission, the researchers perish on the Citadel of starvation. All traces of their being there are removed by the Keepers.

* * *

A/N: Don't worry, the Asari are NOT going to be Reclaimers. 'Cos I ain't gonna tolerate no blue-skinned chicks tramplin' on Humanity's image an' makin' 'em weaker than' they shou' be, no fuckin' sar!

*COUGHS* Okay, pardon the incredibly lame and random southern drawl back there. Anyways, the Asari won't have Reclaimer status. Any- and every-one who rants about this will have their complaints directed to Mr. Tras H. Canne, who has been so kind as to offer his services.

The next timeline will be the second last one and after that, it's game-setting time. All the pieces will be on the board. Don't you worry about balance, 'cos I plan to make it a 6-way war. You heard me. SIX-WAY WAR.

I won't reveal much else, other than that you must be prepared to be amazed... or incredibly repulsed by my choices of crossovers.

Till next time,

_Q282__

P.S. Mr. Tras H. Canne has extended his offer to include all reviews and PMs regarding this story pertaining to TDS. Please, by all means, go ahead and feed him. He's kinda hungry, y'know.


	4. Timeline IV

A/N: Damn I haven't updated in a loooooooooong time. So I belive an apology is in order. _My humblest apologies._ There, all better! Anyways, you came here for the story/timeline/whatever, so I'm gonna let you read this extra-long-super-chapter/timeline/whatever, partially this long because I didn't want to break it up, and partially as an apology for keeping you guys waiting. Sorry guys! :S

P.S. Remember to vote for the mini-story/full story in the poll! Right now its a tie. Damn this took so much time to write... Ah well, enjoy!

* * *

Timeline IV: Post Protheans-Pre Great Schism

* * *

40,000 BCE

A Reaper scout vessel designed to search for any trace of the Precursors finds a Halo, Installation 04. The Reaper, thinking it was Precursor in nature, begins to panic and broadcasts a distress signal. The signal, however, is jammed by the Monitor of the Halo, 343 Guilty Spark. Due to an unknown circumstance, the Reaper crash-lands in Sector 1215. 343 Guilty Spark constructs a sarcophagus around the wreck, remarking on the lack of crew in his terminal entry.

* * *

20,000 BCE

The Vasari gain Tier 3 technology. Since they evolved in a Relay Dead Zone, they developed an alternate form of FTL transport.

* * *

15,000 BCE

The Vasari begin to forcefully subjugate various intelligent species and enslave them.

* * *

10,000 BCE

The colonies in Inner Vasari Space begin to disappear one by one. The Dark Fleet is mobilised to fight the threat. Only one ship returned, heavily damaged, its once battle-hardened crew were turned into babbling wrecks. When the medical team sent asked what happened, they uttered one word over and over, a word which unnerved and scared the medical team to near panic: Zerg.

The colony, thoroughly scared, flee in a large group of warships and refitted civilian vessels. This fleet would wander the stars for thousands of years.

* * *

8,000 BCE

The Protoss advance to Tier 3 technology and begin to expand into former Vasari Space.

* * *

7,500 BCE

The Zerg finish assimilating the rest of the species formerly under Vasari control.

* * *

7,000 BCE

The Protoss encounter the Zerg. Immediately after discovering the nature of the Zerg, they begin a campaign of eradication, their warriors slowly driving the Zerg back. The Zerg were forced to focus on the Protoss threat and halted their expansion. This action single-handedly saved the rest of the galaxy.

* * *

6,000 BCE

Seeking to escape the imminent stellar collapse of their home system's sun, a Tier 4 species constructs a 2 km long starship with a gigantic supercomputer programmed with an entire virtual world which 2 billion of them then transfer their consciousnesses into. The starship then leaves the system on a slow voyage through the stars which would last for over 8,000 years.

* * *

4,000 BCE

The Vasari refugee fleet settles in a small system in the outer rim of the galaxy and begins to rebuild their population slowly.

* * *

3000 BCE

The San'Shyuum advance faster than any other race due to the multitude of Forerunner technology scattered on the planet from the controlled crash of the Forerunner Keyship. They unite themselves under one banner and advance themselves peacefully.

* * *

2300 BCE

The war-like nature of the Jiralhanae causes them to advance rapidly to a Tier 4 species, but they bomb themselves back to Tier 7 technology during a nuclear war.

* * *

2200 BCE

The San'Shyuum, united for centuries, fall into civil war. The Reformists, who wish to more closely examine Forerunner technology to further advance their kind, and the Stoics, who believe that Forerunner "relics" are sacred and must not be altered, battle each other over their beliefs, each believing the other to be heretics.

* * *

2100 BCE

The last 2000 Reformists barricade themselves in the Forerunner Keyship, which they call a Dreadnought. The Stoics, reluctant to enter or destroy the "Holy Relic", are at a loss as to what to do.

The Reformists manage to activate the Dreadnought's propulsion system and slipspace drive. They take off, creating a 3 km wide crater in their capital. Before the ship enters slipspace, the Stoics send a message damning the Reformists for their "heresy".

* * *

1900 BCE

The Krogan reach Tier 5 technology. However, they fall into a massive World War and nuke themselves back to Tier 7 technology. So many weapons were used that the ecology of Tuchanka was permanently damaged and the planet itself became radioactive.

* * *

938 BCE

The Reformists encounter the Sangheili, low Tier 3 civilisation which is just beginning to form their own empire. Due to conflicting beliefs regarding Forerunners relics, war breaks out between the two species.

* * *

900 BCE

The Stoics find a Mass Relay in their system. They believe it to be of Forerunner make. A religious team is sent to honour the object. To everyone's surprise, the team is transported light-years away to another object in an instant. The Stoics believe the Relays were left there to allow them to travel the stars.

The result is an interesting hybridisation of Forerunner and Reaper technology. Since the Stoics still believe the objects to be holy, exploration is slow and colonisation takes time due to the elaborate rituals involved.

* * *

852 BCE

The war between Sangheili and San'Shyuum comes to an end with the signing of the Writ of Union. The Covenant is founded with the San'Shyuum holding the political power and the Sangheili wielding the military power.

* * *

800 BCE

The Jiralhanae reach Tier 5 technology again, but they nuke themselves back to Tier 7.

* * *

784 BCE

The Covenant find the Lekgolo homeworld of Te. They discover that many of the Lekgolo worm colonies have devoured Forerunner artifacts and installations, while others eat everything _except_ Forerunner installations.

Outraged by this, the Covenant declares war on them. The Lekgolo, however, prove difficult to defeat because of their ability to combine into the powerful Mgalekgolo, winning many ground campaigns.

Eventually, the threat of orbital bombardment forced the Lekgolo to surrender and join the Covenant. The Sangheili, impressed by their martial prowess, incorporate them into the military as heavy weapons and shock troops.

* * *

750 BCE

The Stoics, upon finding out about the imminent stellar collapse of their home system's star, begin moving the entire population in the home system to other worlds. Priority, however, is put on transporting the Forerunner "relics" to other systems.

Several new worlds are consecrated and colonised to ease the stress of the massive increase in population caused by the exodus of their home system.

* * *

700 BCE

The Asari develop Eezo-based technology from Prothean ruins in a neighbouring system after they find a Mass Relay in their home system.

* * *

650 BCE

The Salarians develop Eezo-based technology from a Prothean outpost in a neighbouring system after travelling there by Mass Relay.

* * *

648 BCE

Janjur Qom's star collapses, destroying the home world of the San'Shyuum. This is observed by the Reformists in their Dreadnought.

* * *

580 BCE

The Asari find the Citadel at the hub of the Mass Relay network.

* * *

520 BCE

The Salarians find the Citadel and begin negotiations with the Asari.

* * *

500 BCE

The Citadel Council is founded by the Asari and Salarians.

* * *

400 BCE

First contact with the Volus occurs. The Volus create a standard galactic currency by request of the Council and are awarded an embassy in return. The lack of a Council seat despite the major contribution remains a sore point with many Volus in the millennia to come.

* * *

350 BCE

The Turian colonies fall into civil war, beginning the Unification War.

* * *

333 BCE

The Turian Hierarchy, based on Palaven, the Turian homeworld, succeeds in conquering or absorbing all the warring factions. Despite the war having come to an end, a degree of animosity between the colonies remains for decades.

* * *

200 BCE

First contact between the Council and Batarians occurs. Negotiations proceed slowly due to the use of slavery by Batarians.

* * *

174 BCE

First contact with the Quarians occurs.

* * *

114 BCE

First Contact with the Hanar occurs.

* * *

100 BCE

The Batarians and Quarians are granted an embassy on the Citadel.

* * *

58 BCE

The Hanar are granted an embassy on the Citadel.

* * *

1 CE

First contact with the Rachni occurs. The Council team activating the dormant Relay is massacred by the hostile insectoids.

Full scale war erupts between the Council and the Rachni.

* * *

80 CE

The Salarians find and uplift the Krogan, who are still Tier 6 due to the harsh nuclear winter on their homeworld and the constant warring, to Tier 3 in order to combat the Rachni.

The Krogan prove able to survive the harsh environment of the Rachni worlds, proceeding to destroy nest upon nest, killing queen and soldier alike.

* * *

300 CE

The Rachni are declared extinct and the Rachni Wars over. As a reward for the services rendered during the Wars, the Krogan are given a new homeworld. Free from the harsh environment of Tuchanka, the Krogan begin to multiply exponentially.

* * *

457 CE

Growing concerns about Krogan expansion, which has not slowed for over a century, leads to the founding of the SPECial Tactics and Reconnaissance (SPECTRE) branch of the Citadel.

* * *

500 CE

The Bran'kor, a slave-using collection of races from the same home system, develop their first working slipspace drive. They begin their expansion into the stars.

* * *

680 CE

The Krogan warlords begin to annex territory from the Council, despite protests from the latter party.

* * *

700 BCE

Following Krogan refusal to give up the Asari colony world of Lusia, the SPECTRES make a pre-emptive strike on Krogan infrastructure, but are found out by the Krogan.

The Krogan Rebellions begin.

* * *

703 CE

The Council, which was losing the war against the Krogan horde, comes into contact with the Turians. They persuade the militaristic Turians to aid in the war.

The Krogan respond by bombarding Turian colonies from orbit. After this, the Turians redouble their war effort, and vow to stop the Turians from ever becoming a threat again, at any cost.

* * *

710 CE

Realising that the Krogan cannot be stopped by conventional means, the Turians unleash the Genophage on the Krogan, reducing their birth rate to less than one live birth in a thousand.

The Krogan population begins to decline. Realising that horde tactics would not work anymore, the Krogan begin to focus more on quality over quantity. Thus, instead of one Krogan grunt being an almost even match for one Turian, one Krogan battlemaster becomes an even match for ten Turians or more.

* * *

715 CE

The Yautja develop the hyperspace drive and begin their expansion into the stars.

* * *

732 CE

Upon seeing the military prowess and skill of the Turians, the Volus agree to become a client race of the Hierarchy.

* * *

800 CE

The Krogan are defeated, though scattered rebellions and insurrections occur over the next few decades. The Krogan begin their slow spiral into extinction. The Council imposes a DMZ on Krogan worlds.

The Council declares the Krogan Rebellions over, and award the Turians an embassy for their efforts in the war. The Turians fill in the peacekeeping and military niche left by the Turians.

* * *

820 CE

The Bran'kor make first contact with the science-oriented Enyavs. The Bran'kor, upon discovering the small military of the Enyavs, decide to enslave them for their own purposes.

The Fall of the Enyavs begins.

* * *

830 CE

The Enyavs genetically modify a small portion of their population into fearsome killing machines. The plan worked too well as the genetically engineered Enyavs, now known as Xenomorphs, turn on their creators.

By cutting around Xenomorph-infested planets, the Bran'kor are able to defeat the extremely weakened Enyavs and enslave them.

* * *

831 CE

The Yautja stumble upon some of the old Enyav planets, narrowly missing the bigger war by a couple dozen light-years. They stumble upon a recently fought battle between the Bran'kor and the Xenomorphs. Noting the similarities between the Xenomorph head and a Bran'kor skull, they wrongly assume that the Xenomorphs were created by the Bran'kor.

After observing how the planetside team was attacked by face huggers and infected, the Yautja vowed to destroy the Xenomorphs and those who created them.

* * *

834 CE

The Yautja begin to expand through the "no-go" Xenomorph zone. Thus, the Yautja begin to re-form their society and culture around the Xenomorphs.

Because clearing a planet of Xenomorphs takes enormous manpower, resources and time, the rate of expansion of the Yautja is severely hampered.

* * *

900 CE

The Turians are given a seat on the Council as a reward for their services in the Krogan Rebellions.

* * *

1112 CE

The Yanme'e, an insectoid race, is peacefully inducted into the Covenant.

The Kig-Yar are discovered by the Covenant. Although they initially resist absorption into the Covenant, they eventually recognise that they are facing a superior force and submit.

* * *

1400 CE

Extensive and unchecked industrial expansion on the Drell homeworld of Rakhana begins to take its toll on the environment.

* * *

1552 CE

The San'Shyuum develop primitive lifespan-enhancing technology based on advanced Forerunner nanotechnology. Thus, the San'Shyuum lifespan of 250 years is extended to over 400 years.

* * *

1600 CE

First sightings of Collector ships reported in the Terminus Systems. The Citadel dismisses it as rumours and/or hoaxes.

* * *

1895 CE

The Geth, machine labour created by the Quarians, become self-aware. Fearing an uprising, the Quarians begin decommissioning and dismantling them. The Geth revolt in self-defence and drive the vastly outnumbered Quarian military—and the civilian population with them—off their own worlds.

The last 17 million Quarians escape in the Migrant Fleet, fleeing to Citadel space, forced to live life as space nomads.

Despite pleas from the Quarians, the Council does not intervene, but instead punishes them for creating the Geth and closes the Quarian embassy on the Citadel.

* * *

1914 CE

On Earth, Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated in Serbia. This sparks a war across Europe and her colonies and ends with tens of millions of military personnel dead.

* * *

1918 CE

World War I is ended in favour of the Allies and Germany is forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles.

* * *

1921 CE

The Geth begin construction of giant mega-structures to house and run all Geth programs in existence. This becomes the long term goal of Geth civilisation.

* * *

1939 CE

Germany invades Poland, sparking World War II, the bloodiest battle in Human history.

* * *

1945 CE

WWII comes to an end with an Allied victory. This also marks the first use of an atomic bomb by Humanity, elevating them to Tier 5.

* * *

2000 CE

The Hanar make first contact with the Drell. With little to no resources left on their homeworld, and no spacefaring capabilities, the Drell society was estimated to collapse in 2025.

The Hanar agree to help and ferry approximately 2 million Drell to their homeworld of Kahje. The rescue operation was stopped due to lack of support from the Council and the lack of land infrastructure on Kahje to house the Drell.

* * *

2060 CE

Frustrated with the pace of official space exploration, billionaire Victor Manswell begins funding his own private spaceflight expedition.

* * *

2075 CE

The Manswell expedition is launched successfully from Earth and en route to the Alpha Centauri system with 1000 colonists on board several ships in cryogenic stasis.

Shortly after, communications with the ships are lost. The mission is declared a failure.

* * *

2080 CE

The first permanent settlement on Luna is established. Installations on the Jovian moons are constructed.

* * *

2108

North Korea, against advice from China, attacks and occupies South Korea. Low-yield ICBMs were deployed to destroy military installations. Horrified, the world unites against North Korea to depose the regime. China and Russia both declare neutrality in the ensuing conflict.

China, taking advantage of the war, overruns Taiwan and begins occupying islands in the South China Sea, sparking another conflict between it and Philippine and Japanese forces.

* * *

2109 CE

The first battle in space is fought between Urnan and Korean shuttles.

* * *

2111 CE

World War III comes to an end with the North Korean communist regime deposed and China in control of much of the South China Sea. While bloody, not as many casualties were suffered as in World War II.

* * *

2125 CE

The Yahg are discovered on Parnack by the Council. After the diplomatic team is massacred by the Yahg, the Council declares the system off-limits and imposes a DMZ around it.

Due to Parnack's coincidental proximity to Krogan territory, that sector of space is nicknamed "The Brute Zone".

* * *

2142 CE

The Covenant discovers the Unggoy on Balaho. The naturally cowardly Unggoy surrender almost immediately upon seeing the Covenant troops, especially when the Sangheili and Mgalekgolo started landing on the surface.

* * *

2160 CE

The Jovian Moons Campaign begins as the Frieden secessionists attack UN colonial advisors over Io.

As tensions escalate, the then-divided nations of Earth begin fighting proxy wars off world.

* * *

2162 CE

The Rainforest Wars begins as Koslovic, Frieden and UN forces clash over ideological differences in South America.

* * *

2163 CE

The UN establishes the United Nations Space Command (UNSC) to eliminate the various insurgent cells in the Sol System.

The Agyre Planitia Campaigns are fought on Mars between Koslovic, Frieden and UNSC forces. This marks the first extra-terrestrial deployment of UNSC Marines.

* * *

2164 CE

The Interplanetary War is fought; the Frieden and Koslovic forces are defeated by a massive, unified and well-trained UN military force.

_A Soldier's Tale: Rainforest Wars_, a military novel, is first published.

* * *

2170 CE

The Castillo Treaty is signed. The Frieden and Koslovic forces formally surrender to the UNSC, officially ending the Interplanetary War.

The Unified Earth Government (UEG) is established in the wake of the conflicts of the 2160s.

The UEG begins focusing more on stabilising the economy and improving spaceflight, seeing the vast potential larger and more powerful ships could have in another such conflict.

The Manswell Expedition land on Alpha Centauri Bb. The colonists establish the first Human extrasolar colony of Sera.

* * *

2184 CE

The Raloi discover an Asari cruiser in their system. Following which, they are formally introduced into the galactic community. Once acclimatized to the galactic system, the Council helps sponsor the Raloi's first colony.

As a direct result of this, Raloi population skyrockets and the economy booms.

* * *

2210 CE

The Bran'kor Empire stumbles upon Humanity. They immediately begin a military campaign to enslave Humanity.

The UEG fields its new frigates and corvettes to combat this threat. The first destroyer, the UNSC _Beacon_, is made the flagship of the Earth Defence Fleet. The entire economy is also adapted and geared towards war.

All power is also handed over to the military branch of the UEG, the United Nations Space Command (UNSC).

* * *

2211 CE

The UNSC finds that the corvettes, though weaker than frigates, are easily mass producible and ten can be constructed in the time it takes to make a frigate. Thus, the UNSC starts mass producing corvettes instead of a mixture of frigates and corvettes.

The _Beacon_ is destroyed in the Second Battle of Mars and morale drops.

Project: RAZE is initiated to specifically combat the threat. In later times, they were referred to as the first modern Spartans, or Spatran-0s. Specially picked Marines were inducted and trained intensively for a year, were given the best gear and weaponry, and were trained in every weakness of their enemy.

* * *

2212 CE

Project: RAZE soldiers are deployed. Immediately, they begin to regain ground from the enemy. UNSC forces experience a massive morale boost and push back against the surprised Bran'kor.

Reversed-engineered personal shielding for Humans begins mass production. Simultaneously, Wallace Fujikawa and Tobias Fleming Shaw develop the first Shaw-Fujikawa Slipspace Drive, reverse engineered from captured Bran'kor ships.

This drive fuels the First Technological Revolution of Humanity.

First contact between Humans and the Enyav resistance group Crusade of Freedom (ECF) occurs. The Enyavs supply even more technology and provide critical intelligence.

The Zombie Virus is developed from genetically altered Flood spores found in a broken part of a starship encased in ice and deployed as a biological weapon by the Bran'kor.

_The events of Raze begin._

* * *

2213 CE

Using the intelligence given, the UNSC strikes right into the heart of the Bran'kor military, successfully assassinating the Commander in Chief of the Bran'kor Armed Forces and forcing the Bran'kor Empire to sign a ceasefire.

Gliese 581g is declared a Quarantine zone as that is where the Bran'kor first deployed the Zombie Virus.

The UNSC lowers its alert level to DEFCON 2 and begins a massive military and economic build-up.

The UNSC also neglects to mention the ECF in the ceasefire talks in order to legalise supporting them. In order to decrease the likelihood of their aid being detected, the UNSC limits the extent of its support of the ECF to funds and facility building.

_The events of Raze wrap up and finish._

* * *

2219 CE

The Bran'kor Empire violates the ceasefire and fires on the corvette UNSC _Echo-1_ over the Gliese Quarantine Zone. Captain Raymond Biggs is able to take out the offending vessel before crashing his ship on Gliese 581g and activating a distress beacon.

The source of the attack was found to be because the Bran'kor were protecting a Forerunner planetary shielding device, as a large meteor shower was progressing towards the Earth, and coincidently, the Bran'kor homeworld.

_The events of Raze 2 occur_.

* * *

2220 CE

The Bran'kor launch a surprise offensive from underground bunkers on Mars. Within weeks, the surprised defenders are driven back to the main cities of Asgard, Granica and New Lengasapi.

The Yautja stumble upon Humanity. They find that they have a common enemy and formally enter into an alliance. The Yautja and Humans succeed in pushing the Bran'kor out of the Sol System permanently.

The ECF secedes from the Bran'kor Empire with Yautja and Human assistance. However, they only succeed in freeing 2% of their species, or about 2 million Enyavs.

They are given a new homeworld bordering Yautja space. Since Enyav space was severely fractured and separated during the creation of the Xenomorphs, the ECF had no knowledge of the creation of the Xenomorphs, coming to the same conclusions as the Yautja and Humans.

* * *

2225 CE

Reach is colonised by the UNSC. Its rich deposits of Titanium quickly make it a major ship-builder, and indirectly a military hub.

Gliese 581g is reclaimed from the Zombies with Yautja assistance.

* * *

2230 CE

The Orbital Drop Shock Troops are formed. Their original means of deploying were by jumping from the stratosphere with jetpacks.

The UNSC buys 10 Yautja colonies and the uncolonised systems in-between to create a buffer zone between Yautja space and Earth. The UNSC starts creating its administrative divisions of space.

* * *

2240 CE

Gliese 581g is declared Zombie-free and is opened to the UNSC for colonisation. In honour of the wars fought over the past decades, it is renamed Freedom.

The UNSC_ Bright Future_, the largest ship made by the UNSC, classified as a cruiser and measuring at over 1.5 km, is made. It is also equipped with the first MAC gun.

The Earth Defence Fleet is now composed of 500 corvettes, 27 frigates, 5 destroyers and 1 cruiser.

* * *

2257 CE

The Turian patrol at Relay 314 notices an unidentified vessel enter the system via FTL. It is smooth and resembled Mass Relays with two wings. The patrol commander, Armerus Hrydann, follows First Contact protocol.

The unidentified vessel was in fact a San'Shyuum religious vessel which was sent to scout and activate the Relay in the system simultaneously with its twin stationed at the other Relay as part of an elaborate ritual. First Contact is friendly, but the religious team insists on completing the ritual before negotiating.

After completing the ritual, the leader of the religious team and one of the San'Shyuum Hierarchs, Jur Rynn, agrees to follow Hrydann to the Citadel, thinking that the Turians had established a station orbiting the Citadel in order to worship it.

He is, therefore, shocked that the Citadel was turned into a sprawling metropolis and treated like an everyday object. He refused to dock his ship with the Citadel, declaring the galaxy guilty of heresy and demanding they withdraw from the Citadel.

However, the Asari Councillor at the time, Aerila, was able to convince Jur that the Protheans intended for the Citadel to be inhabited, using diplomacy skills honed from dealing with overzealous Hanar.

It worked, causing Jur to announce that his people would "follow the will of the Gods" and "entrench themselves firmly on this holy relic".

* * *

2265 CE

An underground bunker made by an unknown civilisation is found under the surface of Freedom.

Intact data archives are found and cracked, these lead to an unknown tuning-fork-shaped object is found encased in ice over Gliese 581d, known as a "Mass Relay". One of the science ships found an unknown element of atomic number 0 composed entirely of neutrons on Gliese 581e's moon. It is named Element Zero.

This fuels the Second Technological Revolution of Humanity.

* * *

2268 CE

Humanity manages to reverse engineer the Forerunner planetary shield, which itself is a prototype. ONI Section Zero operatives place them on Human worlds in secret and it is kept from the rest of the galaxy. The Forerunner prototype remains on Earth.

* * *

2270 CE

The UNSC standardises the use of Element Zero, or Eezo for short, on all military vessels to improve the efficiency and manoeuvrability in battle.

As a direct result, Humanity is able to capture several Bran'kor worlds. Public opinion on the UNSC's action leans strongly towards war in Enyav, Yautja and Human polls.

* * *

2275 CE

The UEG Senate sanctions "localised warfare", where the UNSC is authorised to take any Bran'kor colony found, as long as the defending fleet is weaker than a fleet of 500 UNSC corvettes, and the area of the region held by the UNSC is properly defended and strengthened.

The Yautja Adjudicators of the Council of Ancients (YCA) also pledge support in raids if the invasion takes place near the Yautja-Human border.

* * *

2352 CE

The San'Shyuum are granted an embassy on the Citadel with strong support from the Hanar.

After First Contact, Hanar-San'Shyuum relations are firmly established, with the San'Shyuum believing that the Forerunners created both Prothean and Forerunner tech, and the Hanar worshipping the Protheans as the Enkindlers.

Both species believe that they are worshipping the same gods with different names, and both species agree that Prothean ruins are not to be desecrated.

* * *

2390 CE

What will later become the Inner Colonies are fully colonised. Over 320 worlds have been conquered, bought, colonised or are under colonisation by the UNSC.

The Earth Defence Fleet is more balanced now, standing at over 5000 corvettes, 750 frigates, 300 destroyers, 15 carriers and 25 cruisers.

* * *

2420 CE

Imulsion is discovered on Sera. This leads to a 79-year long conflict between the two main factions, the COG and UIR, over control of the substance, which is able to supply near-limitless energy.

* * *

2468 CE

The two habitable planets of the Epsilon Indi system are jointly colonised by the UNSC and YCA, becoming the seventh joint colony. Due to its particularly fertile soil, the UNSC Outer Colony of Harvest becomes a 'breadbasket', supplying produce to dozens of other colonies. Its neighbour, Shanix, is colonised by the YCA.

* * *

2470 CE

Preston Jeremiah Cole is born on Earth.

* * *

2491 CE

A joint Human-Yautja scouting party discovers the planet Onyx. Following the discovery of Forerunner ruins bearing similarities to the Barrier Objects on Earth, the system is declared off-limits and is omitted from all records.

Science teams from both species are dispatched, but little headway is made.

Project: ORION is initiated in response to civil unrest throughout the Outer Colonies.

* * *

2492 CE

The Jiralhanae are found by the Covenant. By this time, they had just re-discovered radio and rocketry. In their primitive state, they are quickly defeated and brought into the Covenant.

* * *

2494 CE

The UNSC agrees to lower the population required for a colony to be represented in the Divisional Senateto 2.5 million people. Security is increased and more liberties are given to the people. A treaty is signed between major Outer Colony spokesperson and UNSC Commander Lyrenne Castilla and UNSC Rear Admiral Cole, unofficially ending the Insurrection.

This quells much of the unrest, although scattered groups remain hostile to the UNSC.

* * *

2496 CE

Coordinated Bran'kor attacks on the planets Biko and Charybdis IX cause several UNSC ships to crash planetside, washing the planets with Eezo. Little is thought of it at first until the SIS Incident 5 years later.

* * *

2499 CE

The COG uses the Hammer of Dawn on UIR cities, forcing them to surrender, ending the war. Rebuilding of the war-torn planet commences.

* * *

2501 CE

An accident at Singapore International Spaceport occurs after a UNSC corvette accidentally overloads its Eezo core while landing, exposing hundreds of Humans and a dozen Yautja to dust-form Eezo. In the following years, minor telekinetic abilities are discovered among the children born after the accident. The lone Yautja born, Sharp-Blade, is found to have a weaker manifestation of the same ability.

* * *

2502

Vice Admiral Cole and Captain Castilla are married on Emerald Cove. This event is widely publicised and solidifies the relationship between the Outer Colonies and Earth in the eyes of the public.

Castilla's ship, the _Bellicose_, is transferred to Fifth Fleet, now under the command of Vice Admiral Cole.

* * *

2505

Sector 3-9-13, Venezia, rebels against the UNSC, citing continued unfair treatment of Outer Colonists by Inner Colonists.

A division of the UNSC 3rd Fleet under Vice Admiral Cole moves in and neutralises the threat from Sector 3-9-10. This also marks the first engagement where a UNSC _Valiant_-class Super-Heavy Cruiser was deployed.

The Insurrection is officially declared over and Cole is promoted to Admiral.

Emergence Day on Sera occurs. The Locust rise up and attack the COG from underground from all angles. In the first month, over 50% of the population was killed. The COG evacuates all remaining citizens to Jacinto Plateau, where the hard rock underneath would prevent the Locusts from tunnelling and attacking the cities.

_The events of Gears of War: Judgement occurs._

* * *

2510 CE

The Insurrectionists carry out Operation: EXODUS, fleeing UNSC space in slipspace-capable hollowed-out asteroids to a pre-designated planet hundreds of light-years away from UNSC territory.

There, they form the Confederacy of Man on the planet Tarsonis. This, however, unwittingly puts them in the way of the Protoss-Zerg War.

The same year, Project: MAGICIAN is green-lighted by ONI to train children of Biotic potential. The Chief Scientist, Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, kidnaps children, mostly from Biko and Charybdis IX, and trains them to become the elite SpecOps unit of Humanity. They become known as the Angels.

* * *

2511 CE

Spartan John-117 is born on Eridanus II.

* * *

2512 CE

The first mass-producible and safe model of the SOEIV (HEV) is put into service by the UNSC.

* * *

2518 CE

The Project: SPARTAN is started. Due to the success of the Project: ORION, ONI was willing to give Dr. Halsey the go-ahead so as to subdue remnant Insurrectionists and to give the UNSC a group of soldiers on par with or better than Yautja Predators. Several veteran Angels participate in the training.

* * *

2519 CE

Marcus Fenix, a former Gear, is freed from prison by his closest friend, Dominic Santiago. He re-joins the Gears and takes command of Delta Squad.

_The events of Gears of War and Gears of War 2 occur._

* * *

2521 CE

Fenix and Delta Squad discover the former's father, a prominent researcher on the Locust, on the resort island of Azura.

_The events of Gears of War 3 occur._

* * *

A/N: And you are finally finished reading! Wow, that was a lot, at least compared to my present average of 2,000+ words per chapter. So the stage is set, now for the Great War! Also, I'm putting my other stories on temporary hold as I've _coincidentally_ suffered writer's block on all of them.

Also, I decided that I owed my flagship the courtesy of more attention. You might want to take out your notes this chapter and next; MAJOR canon deviations upcoming! Alternatively, you may wait several months for the revelant codexes to come up in a parallel story titled TheMantleverse: An Essential Guide.

In other news... HOORAY! First story with over 10,000 words!

*Checks non-existant watch* Ah well, I'm afraid I've got to go! See y'all next update!

_Q282__

Remember, after Timeline V is up, **NO. MORE. ADDING. GAMES/BOOKS/SHOWS/ANIME/WHATEVER.**

So,

_Review/suggest please?_

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\"."/

\/

b(^^),o


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